Dangerous youngsters or youngsters (not) in danger? Constructions of unaccompanied children by Swedish service providers

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article discusses how a selection of service providers talk about unaccompanied minors as a specific group of children and how these constructions relate to the way in which the service providers articulate what they see as their prime work and obligations amid these children and youth. The interview data were collected as part of two separate follow-up studies conducted in two different parts of Sweden, where the municipal reception of unaccompanied minors was explored. The analysis points to how three rather different and opposing, yet overlapping, narratives were brought to the fore by the service providers. The unaccompanied minors could be framed as unproblematic youngsters (not in danger), problematic youngsters (possibly dangerous), or examples of any other child in a specific problematic situation (in danger). These constructions influenced what aid or intervention was deemed legitimate. The findings have important policy implications because they point to the need to address and reflect on the underlying categorizations that social workers and service providers maintain and reproduce when they talk about specific client groups, such as unaccompanied children and young people, as these categorizations may come to have real consequences and implications for the unaccompanied children affected by these constructions.